You
by Maddiepink5
Summary: A word best preceded by the words "I Love."


**A/N: Welcome! Been playing Platinum lately and I decided I liked Lucas/Dawn. I don't exactly like how it came out, but I suppose it'll have to do. I REALLY want criticism for this story, so please R & R!  
><strong>

You

I have no idea where your story begins. Were you born and raised in Sandgem? Perhaps you moved from a different city, maybe even a different region, for whatever reason. I've never had reason to ask. My goal is not to tell every detail of our two stories. Rather, I want to describe the tale of how our two stories wove together and we became as one.

I myself grew up in Twinleaf. I isolated myself from others and immersed myself in my schoolwork. My sole friend was Barry. Why did I isolate myself? I suppose that would have to be because I was always more mature than those my age, and I thought that we would not be able to get along. To this day, I still don't know why Barry kept trying to befriend me. But eventually he got through, and even though I know there's nothing between us romantically, our friendship has never been awkward.

So the days passed in relative peace. The professor of the region, Rowan, had been in other regions for years and I had nobody to give me starter Pokemon. My mom's Pokemon were more suited for Contests, while I was aiming straight for Champion. Barry's mom had an unnatural fear of Pokemon and there were never any in his house. Not that it ever mattered. If you were under eighteen, you had to get permission from the professor of the region to travel. If not, you were only allowed to legally to be in your town and the routes directly connecting to it with your Pokemon. I was without Pokemon, but nobody my age could go on a journey anyway.

Why would you even care? I say that this is about our story, and then proceed to detail my life. But I haven't ever told you my story before, so I guess it works out in the end.

The next part of the story is as familiar to me as it is to you. Barry was about to drag me into tall grass, risking the anger of a wild Pokemon with no way to defend ourselves, when Rowan stopped us from behind. And let me tell you, Barry thinks he's nice, but he still scares me half to death sometimes. Soon after our (Barry's) lecture, you came stumbling behind Rowan. We were both fifteen and you had some muscle already, but that didn't help the fact that Rowan practically carried rocks in his briefcase, which you were carrying. The rest was a blur, and you barely stand out in the memory- after all, it was my first Pokemon. But I had always been mature, blunt maybe. I thought the Piplup would be the choice of any other girl my age, and I really wanted to avoid that stereotype. On the other hand, the way that Turtwig stared vacantly at me rubbed me the wrong way. And thus I became partners with Chimchar. Barry chose Piplup, if only that in the future he would have a type advantage over me. I learned later that Rowan's planned research would be too hard without Chimchar and Piplup and so you got Turtwig and your own journey.

Some might call it destiny, some might call it fate. I think it was sheer, dumb luck. Meeting you…little did I know how it would affect me later- much, much later.

That "much, much later" started when Rowan asked me to go to Lake Valor- even after all four of us knew that there had been a bombing. I couldn't handle it. The pressure had been building ever since we battled those Galactic Grunts at Jubilife. I had since battled two Galactic commanders and countless grunts, all of whom informed me that something big, too big for their own comprehension, was coming. And I was done. Done battling those freaks, done putting my life on the line. All I had asked for was to become the Pokemon Champion, to go on a journey like so many others before me. Why was I the one charged with this task? Was it because I was reliable and strong? Was it because I was "brave"? I didn't think I was brave. All my courage fell away as I ran out of the library, scared to death. The tears fell, the sun was setting. When your hand touched my shoulder I was almost positive it was Barry, who would tell me to get a grip. But I was glad it was you. You, with your calming voice, that told me that it would be all right, not telling me to get a hold of myself or to stop being a baby. No, while Barry was good for when I was out of control, you were there to comfort me when I was truly being pushed to my limit. I still remember that conversation.

_"You're scared, aren't you?" you asked as you fell into step beside me._

_I nodded through my tears. "This whole evil syndicate, and I'm supposed to stop it. Me! I'm just fifteen! Where are the police? Where are the Elite Four? The Champion?" You just stood there, listening to my rant, letting me release my feelings. "I can't handle it! I didn't ask for this! And who knows how much worse it's going to get?" The tears were stopping, replaced with anger. "It's not my job! If anything, I could get a little help!" I stopped walking, seething with anger instead of sadness. Then you spoke, only two words._

_"I understand."_

_That's when I really flew into a rage. "But you don't! You can't! Nobody understands! Nobody has understood me my entire life, and I barely know you, you couldn't understand no matter how much you wanted to!"_

And with that, I called out Staraptor and flew away to Lake Valor.

I know now you were just trying to help. That you wanted more than anything to see me happy, because you fell in love with me far before I did the same for you. According to you, I was mature and determined, and definitely stronger than you were.

I didn't see you too much after that. The rest of my journey was a blur. Sure enough, I defeated the Team Galactic ringleader, Cyrus, myself. Then I went on to defeat the Pokemon League and the Champion, Cynthia. Maybe I had seen you in that time, but I don't remember. Too much was going on- I still wasn't in love with you.

It was only two days after becoming Champion, taking a rest in my hometown, that I remembered you for real. Lo and behold, in all the mess, I had forgotten that that day was my sixteenth birthday. I don't know how you found out, but you were the only one that remembered- even Barry didn't show up, preoccupied with training for the Elite Four. That meant the world to me. We spent the day together, and at the end of the day, you asked me out. I was certainly surprised. But I found myself quite pleased as well, and accepted.

You became my lifeline after that. Certainly, saving the world messes a person up somewhat. But I realized just how much you had paid attention to our meetings throughout our journeys, while I forgot them quickly. It was a beautiful feeling, finally meeting someone who cared about me, took notice of me. We had been on journeys at the same time, and now at the end we were finally making up for lost time. Slowly but surely, I fell into the same trap you did- love.

I gradually began to remember things about you and I in our journey. Gradually, you became more and more prominent in my memory of my travels. And now I realize that even though it was a grand tale for me, it was truly the place where we started to weave our tale.

I can certainly say that our story isn't as thrilling as defeating Team Galactic, but with you, I certainly feel safe, finally safe.

You're the one good thing that came out of that journey, your warmth, your shy smile, your calm speech. Every day I look forward to when you say "you", preceded by the words "I love."

Today as I write this, I know that earlier tonight you said the word "me" instead. But the phrase was much more pleasing than "I love you." It was, of course, "Will you marry me?"

I said yes.


End file.
